


Would you even think of me?

by OrionWisehart



Category: Captain America (Movies), The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Gen, M/M, The Winter Soldier - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-31
Updated: 2013-05-31
Packaged: 2017-12-13 13:23:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,584
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/824775
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OrionWisehart/pseuds/OrionWisehart
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Moving swiftly and silently, he climbed down from his perch, stowed away his weapon, and only once the thick black hood was pulled over his head, he started following at a distance. Thankfully, they didn't stray too far into the park and the Soldier was able to find a perfectly good vantage point that left a wide-open shot in a three story building nearby. As he settled in and began to assemble his rifle, the Soldier pushed his shaggy black hair out of his face and peered out the window at the couple. They looked so... happy. The sight, and the surroundings, brought a familiar sensation to the man; a vague tugging at the back of his mind, images and memories that he couldn't place. A train, a man with a shield, the bitter cold... The same skinny blond boy that he did not recognize. Gritting his teeth, the Soldier glared down at his work to try and focus his cloudy mind. /Buck!/ said an oddly familiar voice in his head, muffled and distant. /Buuuck!/</p>
            </blockquote>





	Would you even think of me?

The location is New York City. The date is February fourteenth, two thousand and... Thousand and... The year does not matter. What matters is keeping out of sight. What matters is tailing the target and taking him out with skilled precision; the orders are clear. Take out Mr. Corey Atwell. He knows the face, he knows the name, but what he doesn't know is the why... Why does this man deserve to die? That's not pertinent information. Just kill. The bustle of the New York street below is loud and hectic, filled with car honking, people shouting, and music playing in a language he doesn't even realize he understands. A lesser man would have easily lost the target in such a huge crowd but not the Soldier. The Winter Soldier, Russia's prized possession... He was their best and most efficient assassin, used for everything from training to field missions. He never asked questions, he never hesitated. At least, not until tonight. Sharp blue eyes narrowed, honing in on the movement of the blond man and his ginger haired female comrade as they shifted through the crowd, heading towards a less busy area. Judging by the time and their behavior, it didn't take much to assume they were making a beeline for Central Park. A smirk played on his lips. Perfect.

Moving swiftly and silently, he climbed down from his perch, stowed away his weapon, and only once the thick black hood was pulled over his head, he started following at a distance. Thankfully, they didn't stray too far into the park and the Soldier was able to find a perfectly good vantage point that left a wide-open shot in a three story building nearby. As he settled in and began to assemble his rifle, the Soldier pushed his shaggy black hair out of his face and peered out the window at the couple. They looked so... happy. The sight, and the surroundings, brought a familiar sensation to the man; a vague tugging at the back of his mind, images and memories that he couldn't place. A train, a man with a shield, the bitter cold... The same skinny blond boy that he did not recognize. Gritting his teeth, the Soldier glared down at his work to try and focus his cloudy mind. _Buck!_ said an oddly familiar voice in his head, muffled and distant. _Buuuck!_

_"Bucky! Wait up!" Steve gasped, tripping over his own feet in his haste to catch up with the brooding form of his best friend stalking down the street. He was a good runner, though, so it wasn't long before he was padding along beside him, peering up at the handsome male with a curious expression on his face. "Hey, Buck... What happened? I thought that you were supposed to be goin' out with Sally tonight?"_

_"Yeah, well, that didn't all work out," Bucky muttered, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jacket as he kicked a loose rock down the sidewalk. Beside him, he could tell Steve tried to do the same only he miscalculated the height of the rock and ended up nearly slipping on it; now matter how bad of a mood he was in, he couldn't not smile._

_"Oh," Steve hummed, blinking several times after he regained his balance and tried to slip back into some semblance of a 'cool walk' beside his friend. "Well... Why not? I thought you two had something..."_

_"Because it just didn't, okay, Steve?" Bucky almost snapped, making the smaller teen flinch. Sighing, he paused to turn and look at him with a softer look. "Hey... Sorry... I just... Well, who needs girls anyway?" He flashed a somewhat forced but still charming grin and shrugged a shoulder. "They're moody and complicated and they just don't understand us... You know?" he asked cryptically, the look in his eyes just willing for Steve to understand. By the way the blond stared up at him in confusion, he knew he didn't and it pulled another sigh from him. "You're a hopeless punk, you know that, Rogers?" he chuckled, slinging an arm around his neck to pull him closer as they started walking again. "C'mon... I hear the malt shop is selling strawberry milkshakes for a penny tonight since it's Valentine's Day..."_

_"You know, you're right, Buck," Steve mused quietly as he walked alongside the taller boy, slouched slightly under the weight of his arm. As he turned his face up to him, eyes sparkling, he gave him a wide, fond grin. "Who needs those girls? We've got each other."_

By then, the Soldier had assembled his gun and was aiming it carefully out the window at the couple. Dark brows were pinched together in concentration and lips were pressed into a thin line as he pressed his finger against the trigger but did not pull. Hesitation... First the first time, he was experiencing hesitation and it tasted bitter, like bile in the back of his throat. Pale blue eyes watched through the scope as the target got down on one knee and pulled out a tiny black box. He read the words 'will you marry me?' on the man's lips and a second later, his shot was obscured as the his now fiancee threw herself off of the park bench and into his arms. He watched as they kissed, witnessing an intimate moment that was really for their eyes only, and watched as they made their way out of the park to God knows where. His window had closed. His mark was gone. His mission had failed.

\---------------------------------------------------

The sharp smack of skin on skin echoed through the medical examination room. The Soldier's head snapped to the side with the force of the blow, expression barely changing even though his eyes watered just faintly from the sting. Breathing carefully through flared nostrils, the muscles in his jaw flexed as he slowly turned his head straight and stared at the man in uniform in front of him. His handler. "Вы понимаете, что мы не потерпим неудачи, верно?" the man snarled, standing toe-to-toe with Russia's best assassin with no fear even though he was easily half the size he was. _You understand that we do not tolerate failure, correct?!_ The Soldier nodded stiffly but dared not speak a word. "Как вы могли нас так подвести? Что случилось?" the man went on, now pacing a few steps left and right in front of him. _How could you fail us like that? What happened?!_

"Я не решился," the Soldier grunted in a quiet voice, barely above a whisper. _I hesitated._ The admission only earned him another hard smack across the face. He was sure that he'd have a faint bruise on his cheekbone come morning.

"Да, я знаю ... Почему?" _Yes, I know... Why?_

The Soldier didn't reply at first, the memory of the flashback playing through his mind like a broken record. Bucky... Buck... Steve... Each other... "Я потерял цель...У меня видения..." _I lost focus... I am... seeing things._ He watched as the man in front of him stopped his pacing to stare at him critically.

"Видения? Какие?" _Seeing things? Like what?_

" Воспоминания. Я не думаю, что это мои воспоминания... О мальчике по имени Стив..." _Memories... Memories that I do not think are mine. Of a boy named Steve._

If he had known what was to follow his revealing that he was having these... flashbacks, he would've lied and kept it to himself. He hated going under... Hated it. But he had no choice. Allowing the doctors to strip him down completely, he stepped up into the stasis tube and took the breather into his mouth. Gritting his teeth down on the device, he watched with guarded eyes as the glass was lowered down over top of him and the soft hiss of it being sealed sounded. A second later, the cold liquid began to fill the chamber from the bottom, making him glance down as the chemical pooled around his feet and up over his ankles, steadily rising. Goosebumps rose over his flesh; the least they could do was heat the water...

 _Cold. Snow... Falling._ His heart skipped a couple of beats and his brows pinched together at the odd sensation of panic that rose in his chest. His eyes rose again to watch the scientists as they moved around, all going about their business without throwing him so much as a glance. Like he didn't exist. The water was at his waist now. _"Bucky! Grab my hand!"_ Why were his eyes stinging...? Confusion clouded his mind as he struggled to stay calm. God, he hated this. At his shoulders now. _Wind. Fear. He couldn't reach... The train gave a particularly hard lurch and like that... he was falling._ He had to school himself to breath through his mouth now that the water was covering his head, completely submerged. The chemicals stung his eyes worse than the unshed tears but at least it reminded him that he was awake.

Steve... Steve Rogers, his best friend since diapers. He remembered now. That's who that was... who's voice he kept hearing in his head. A slight smile played on his lips as his eyes slowly slipped shut. The chemicals were working on him, making his heart rate slow and his mind go fuzzy with medicated exhaustion but in those last few moments before he went off, he was Bucky Barnes. A handsome but scrawny boy smiled up at him, head cocked to the side. _"We've got each other..."_


End file.
